The Devils

Brother Eduardo Diaz, later Father Diaz, is one of the novel’s point-of-view characters and the closest thing the team has to an archetypal everyman. He is introduced as a self-serving monk who is easily flustered, frequently panicked, and prone to self-pity. After he impregnated a girl, his family forced him to take his vows to prevent embarrassment, and he’s subsequently spent his life in a small monastery performing minor bureaucratic tasks. At the beginning of the novel, he’s recruited by Cardinal Zizka to become the new head of the Chapel of the Holy Expediency. Faced with overseeing a collection of “devils,” Diaz is consistently out of his depth and horrified by their actions.

While Diaz never becomes a fighter, as the story goes on, he becomes more confident and his worldview shifts. He begins the novel firmly embedded in the institutional structure of the Church, believing in its mission and its hierarchy. As time passes, he’s forced to grapple with the contradictions between the Church’s proclaimed virtues and its often-ruthless methods. His character witnesses The Fallibility of Religious Institutions as he sees the corruption of the Church leadership firsthand, including Zizka’s scheming and betrayal, and he sees the sacrifice and humanity of outcasts like Vigga, with whom he formed a strong bond; his understanding of sanctity is shaken.